


see what i see

by parkrstark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Tony is angry because why can't people see how perfect his son is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 12:47:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13590354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkrstark/pseuds/parkrstark
Summary: Tony just can't understand how people can be so cruel. How can they look at Peter and not see what he sees?Or: the one where Tony finds out Peter is being bullied and he is not happy.





	see what i see

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the tumblr prompt, "could you write one where peter is getting bullied but doesn't tell anyone. And then one day tony sees the bruises and gets so angry."
> 
> I hope i did it justice!

Tony knows something is wrong. He’s not sure what, but there’s something wrong with Peter. Maybe the kid got into a fight with his friends or he failed a test, or he lost a decathlon meet. There’s no reason for it to be something too horrible.

Except there is. This is Peter Parker and trouble seems to come looking for him.

 

He can try asking Happy, but he knows that most likely, he’d know just as much as him, if not less. As much as Peter wears his heart on his sleeve, he doesn’t like to share things. Not when it can make him seem any less strong. It’s a small flaw in an otherwise perfect boy.

Calling Peter’s friends is out of the question because he doesn’t want to seem like _that_ parent: the one that gets way too involved in their kids’ lives and makes a phone call every time their kid isn’t invited to a birthday party. Even though, Peter isn’t his kid (but if he were, he’d be invited to every single party, or so help those sorry fools).

He decides to let Peter come to him. Usually, if he leaves it alone, Peter comes to him eventually for help. So, when Peter comes into the lab after school with that ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ smile plastered on his face, Tony has to bite his lip to stop himself from asking what’s wrong. Peter works by his side and there is no noticeable difference in his work; it’s as great as ever.

But’s he quiet and he doesn’t do more than just get his work done. It pains Tony to back off and not persistently ask Peter about what is bothering him.

 

Then he sees the bruises. And this pain nowhere near the pain he was feeling seconds ago.

Someone’s hurting Peter.

_Someone is hurting Peter!_

Tony grabs Peter by the arm, just under his elbow and just above the bruises on his wrist. Peter flinches. “What is that?”

Peter pulls his arm away and pulls down his sleeve. He refuses to look Tony in the eyes as he mutters some bullshit about patrol last night. He’s a horrible liar.

“The truth, Parker.”

“It’s nothing,” he says quickly. “I, uh, fell in gym class.”

“You fell in gym class?’ Tony repeats just so this kid can her how stupid he sounds. “Spider-Man fell in gym class?”

“Mr. Stark--.”

“I’m going to ask you one more time and if you try to lie to me, you will lose your suit so fast your head will spin.” It isn’t his place. This is where he’s supposed to ask the kid about the bruise and if he doesn’t say anything, he should go to May. It’s her job to parent the kid. But he can’t just let it go.

Peter’s eyes widen at the unfair punishment and truth is, Tony wouldn’t take away the suit. Not after last time. But the kid doesn’t want to risk it. So, he caves. “It was just some kid at school, okay?”

“Some kid at school? Why did _some kid at school_ give you a bruise, Peter?” Tony narrows his eyes.

“Because I’m me,” Peter huffs and he speaks in a voice that is not the Peter he knows; it’s dry and cold. “I’m a nerd, a loser, a freak, an easy target, a nobody. The list continues on, would you like to hear more?”

“You can take on a school bully--.”

“No,” the kid argues, “I can’t. I was stuffed into lockers before the bite, so I’m stuffed into lockers after the bite.” He tries to go back to his work. “It’s fine. The humiliation loses its sting after the fifth time you’re shoved into the girl’s locker room and believe it or not, my nostrils are immune to every scent in the school dumpsters. Even on Mystery Meat Monday.”

 

Peter is bullied. Not the typical _‘I’m jealous of you so I’m going to call you a dork and spread rumors about you to all my popular friends’_ bullying, but the _‘I go out of my way to make your life a living hell every day just for the fun of it’_ bullying. And it was all happening right under Tony’s nose.

“How long?” He asks.

Shrugging his shoulders, Peter answers, “I don’t know. A few years? It’s always been like this, but Flash is graduating this year so he’s trying to get as much fun in as he can before he leaves.”

 

Peter doesn’t realize the mistake he’s made by telling Tony his bully’s name. He stores that information away for later.

 

“Why don’t you tell an adult? A teacher? May? Anyone?” Tony doesn’t understand how he just puts up with it. Tony had his share fair of bullies, but he always fought back. He has a feeling that Peter lays down and takes it.

“I’m not going be a tattletale, Mr. Stark.”

“You’re not a tattletale! You are being hurt!”

“It’s fine, Mr. Stark. Nothing I can’t handle. And besides, better me than someone else.”

 

And that’s it. That’s the final straw before Tony explodes. “So, is this a fucking game to you? Throw yourself to every bully to protect _the little guy_?”

“I don’t _throw myself_ at anyone. They come find me anyway.” Peter pulls away at Tony’s harsh tone.

“Oh, and you’re so helpless. You just have to sit there and let them torment you because you’re a self-sacrificing idiot.” Tony runs a hand through his hair as his breathing starts to increase. He’s not supposed to get his anxiety spiking like this and when it does, he’s supposed to take a step back and breathe. But he can’t. Not when his kid is standing in front of him covered in bruises from some dumb bully.

“I can’t--.”

“Shut up,” Tony seethes with a hand pressed against his chest. “I don’t want the excuses about how you could hurt him, or you can’t control your own strength.”

“I wasn’t going to say that!” Peter yells back. Now they’re both angry and breathing heavy. Peter is the first one to take a steadying breath. “I know it’s not cool or strong or smart, but I let them do it. I let them do it because if they get bored with me, then they move onto the next freak in line. If I can protect the ones that can’t just by being a punching bag, then I’m more than happy to do it.”

Peter’s wrong. It is strong and it’s such a hero thing to do. Tony knows this. Peter can easily fight back just enough to get Flash off his back, but then he would move onto the next kid that doesn’t have his strength: both physically and mentally.

Tony doesn’t respond; he takes a seat at the desk and takes a deep breath in and out. Peter comes up next to him and says softly, “I know you’re angry at me. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not angry at you, kid,” Tony says before Peter can continue.

“What? Then why are you yelling at me?” Peter asks in a small confused voice and Tony regrets losing his cool.

“I’m angry.”

“I thought you weren’t--.”

“You’re right: I’m furious.”

Peter frowns and goes silent.

 

“I’m _furious_ that this kid treats you like an outcast, like you’re nothing but a freak.” Tony feels his rage boiling again as he squeezes his hand into a fist. “I don’t understand how they can look at you and see that. How they can get joy out of seeing you hurt. It baffles me.”

“It’s--.” Peter starts to speak, but Tony cuts him off because he needs to get this out.

“You’re not just some loser, Peter Parker. I know you don’t see that. I know you don’t see what I see. I know _they_ don’t see what I see. And that is the most infuriating thing in the world.” His leg is shaking now. “Because I look at you and I see a kid that has so much to offer to this world. A kid that will _change_ the world if people just gave him the chance. You’re smart, strong, and just fucking perfect. You make me smile, kid, more than I have in a while. You mean the world to me and to May and to Ned and you’re more than some dork.

“I look at you and see someone I wish I could be. Honestly, kiddo, there’s no one I’d rather be. You talk about Iron Man being _your_ hero…well, Peter Parker is mine. And I just want him to _see_ what I see. But, he doesn’t believe me, and it kills me.”

Tony is standing and pacing. “But then, every word some no-life prick tells you, you believe. You don’t even question it. Flash tells you that you’re a waste of space and _you believe it_.”

“Why do you believe it? Why does someone like _him_ get to make you feel like this? But the people who actually care about you can’t? Why don’t you believe May when she tells you that you’re her sunshine or when Ned tells you that you’re the best friend he could possibly have or when I tell you there is no one I’d rather have by my side? Why does _Flash_ get to choose how you feel? It’s not fair.”

Peter has nothing to say. There’s nothing he can say. He just stares at Tony with wide eyes.

Tony takes a deep breath and tries to stop it all. He doesn’t want to think about Peter being knocked down again and again by bullies that mean nothing, but Peter takes every dumb word out of their mouths to heart. “They’re the idiots,” he finally whispers. “Not you. They’re the idiots. They don’t realize how lucky they are to have a kid like you in their lives. If they only gave you a chance…they’d see what I see.”

Peter doesn’t say a word, but he’s throwing himself into Tony’s arms a second later. His arms wrap tightly around Tony’s neck. He lets out a small sob and Tony thinks he’s trying to say thank you, but it doesn’t come out clearly.

Tony may not be able to stand by Peter’s side and stop every bully from touching him, but he’d be damned if someone was going to stop him from standing by and helping pick up the pieces afterward. There’ll come a day when his words won’t fix everything Flash sneers from his ugly face, but for now, they do. For now, it’s enough to keep the light in Peter’s eyes and the smile on his face.

And until Peter can see what Tony sees, he’ll be there every time to patch up his scrapes and bruises left by both his fists and his words. No matter what.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave your thoughts below:)


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